Department for Transport

East Coast Railway Line

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the key constraints on each section of the East Coast Main Line.

Chris Heaton-Harris: In June 2018, Network Rail published their document “East Coast Main Line Route Study – Railway Investment Choices” which identifies the capacity constraints on each section of the East Coast Main Line. Network Rail is undertaking a detailed capacity assessment of the Church Fenton to Newcastle section of the route which is due to be completed by mid 2020. A link to the Network Rail publication can be found here.

East Coast Railway Line

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to increase capacity for (a) rail freight and (b) passenger services on the East Coast Main Line.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The government is investing up to £780m in Control Period 6 in the East Coast Main Line. This will fund power supply upgrades between Doncaster and Edinburgh, a new rail junction near Peterborough, a new platform at Stevenage Station and improvements to the track layout at King’s Cross Station. The upgrade at Peterborough will increase freight capacity between East Anglia and the north via the Great Northern and Great Eastern line. Passengers will benefit from two additional trains per hour between London and Doncaster and one additional train per hour between Doncaster and Newcastle.

Aberdeen Airport

Andrew Bowie: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the contribution of Aberdeen City airport to the UK economy.

Paul Maynard: AGS Airports who own and operate the airport, suggest that Aberdeen International Airport contributes more than £110 million a year to the local economy. Approximately 300 people are employed directly by the airport which supports 3,400 jobs across the north-east of Scotland.

Govia Thameslink Railway: Season Tickets

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on the introduction of (a) flexible rail season tickets and (b) rail season tickets targeted at part-time workers on the Govia Thameslink Railway franchise.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Part-time season tickets and flexible multi-buy tickets give people who commute part-time a better deal than they would otherwise have access to. All new franchisees are required as part of their franchise procurement process to offer a product or products in addition to existing season tickets, that give customers who travel less than 5 days a week a better value-for-money option than buying multiple return journeys. Govia Thameslink Railway already offer carnet products on selected routes.

Department for Transport: Cycling

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department has spent on schemes to encourage staff of his Department to cycle to work since 2015; and how much his Department has spent on (a) installing bicycle racks and (b) bonus schemes for bicycle use in that time period.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department encourages employees to cycle to work and provides a range of facilities including cycle racks, dedicated changing rooms, showers and drying facilities. Since 2015 the Department and its Executive Agencies have spent £48,000 on installing and refurbishing bike racks. The Department offers employees the opportunity to save on the cost of purchasing a bike through the cycle to work salary sacrifice scheme. Interest-free cycle loans are also available.

Invalid Vehicles

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve pavements and crossings for people who use mobility scooters.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Transport provides guidance to local authorities and others on the accessibility of the public realm via a comprehensive guidance note entitled “Inclusive Mobility”, which is available on gov.uk . This includes advice on meeting the needs of people who use mobility scooters. The Department is in the process of updating the guidance, and has research underway to inform this. The research is due to conclude by the end of this year, and the updates to the guidance will follow at a later date.

Crossrail 2 Line

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to ensure the delivery of Crossrail 2.

Paul Maynard: The Department for Transport is working closely with Transport for London to update the Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) for Crossrail 2 and determine an affordable funding package for the project that balances contributions from Londoners, central Government and other sources; is fair to the UK taxpayer; and ensures that those who benefit from new infrastructure pay their fair share of its costs. The Government is considering the recommendations of the Crossrail 2 Independent Affordability Review and will consider the SOBC for the project.

Heathrow Airport

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether it is Government policy to support the construction of a third runway at Heathrow airport.

Paul Maynard: The Airports National Policy Statement was designated as government policy in June 2018 following a vote in the House of Commons. It sets out that there is a need to increase airport capacity in the South East of England by 2030 by constructing one new runway and that this need is best met by the Northwest runway scheme at Heathrow airport. The government is clear that expansion cannot come at any cost, and must be in the interest of the consumer. The Airports National Policy Statement includes strict environmental requirements which an applicant for development consent must demonstrate it can meet. The Court of Appeal has granted permission to hear from appellants in October this year. This follows the High Court’s decision to dismiss all 26 grounds raised in the judicial review of the previous Secretary of State’s decision to designate the Airports National Policy Statement.

East Midlands Rail Franchise: Catering

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with representatives from Abellio on Rail Gourmet’s failure to pay the Living Wage on the East Midlands franchise.

Chris Heaton-Harris: Abellio only took over the franchise on the 18th August so the Department has not yet held any discussions with Abellio regarding the catering contract with Rail Gourmet, however the Department regularly engages with franchises and will raise this at the next available opportunity.

East Midlands Rail Franchise: Catering

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department’s contract with Abellio on the East Midlands franchise includes any restrictions that would prevent payment of the Living Wage by catering sub-contractors.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Department’s contract with Abellio does not contain any restriction that would prevent payment of the Living Wage by catering sub contractors. The National Living Wage was introduced by the Government in 2016.

Planning: Urban Areas

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to prioritise (a) pedestrian and (b) cyclists in the design of streets in towns and cities.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The Government’s recently strengthened National Planning Policy Framework advises local authorities to promote healthy, inclusive and safe places which encourage walking and cycling. The Department for Transport’s guidance on Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) helps local authorities to identify priorities for investment and a pipeline of projects to encourage more walking and cycling.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Fuel Poverty: Sutton

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate she has made of the number of households in the London Borough of Sutton in fuel poverty in each year since 2015.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The table below shows the number and proportion of households living in fuel poverty in the London Borough of Sutton, from 2015 to 2017. The 2018 data will be published in summer 2020.  201520162017Estimated number of households in fuel poverty in Sutton6,0007,1007,300Proportion of households in fuel poverty in Sutton (%)7.58.69.1Proportion of households in fuel poverty in England (%)11.011.110.9 Household figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.The latest sub-regional fuel poverty statistics can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-sub-regional-statistics

Parental Leave: Childbirth

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will conduct an impact assessment of the potential effects of extending statutory maternity and paternity leave for parents with ill or premature babies.

Kelly Tolhurst: The Government has recently announced a consultation on parental leave and pay entitlements. This included a proposal for Neonatal Leave and Pay, a new entitlement for parents of babies who require neonatal care following birth, as a result of being born prematurely or sick. The consultation itself includes a high-level summary of the costs associated with the policy proposal. In addition, we will prepare an impact assessment and will publish this in due course.

Energy: Private Rented Housing

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Amending the Private Rented Sector Energy Efficiency Regulations, Final Stage Impact Assessment figures that only 48 per cent of Energy Performance Certificate F- and G-rated privately rented homes will be improved to Band E under the current landlord cost cap of £3,500, if he will use the forthcoming consultation on a trajectory for tightening the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard for the Domestic Private Rented Sector to ensure that a higher proportion of homes will meet any future standard.

Kwasi Kwarteng: The Clean Growth Strategy set out the Government’s intention to look at a long term trajectory for energy performance standards across the private rented sector, with the aim of as many private rented homes as possible being upgraded to EPC Band C by 2030, where practical, cost-effective and affordable. We will set out our position on future policy on this area in due course.

Water Power

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to develop deep-water turbines as a means of producing clean energy in the UK.

Kwasi Kwarteng: Offshore wind is a success story for the UK. Government support has enabled investment, cost reduction and building of the supply chain across the UK. This support has resulted in two world leading floating offshore wind demonstration projects being developed in the UK.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Cycling

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department has spent on schemes to encourage staff of his Department to cycle to work since 2015; and how much his Department has spent on (a) installing bicycle racks and (b) bonus schemes for bicycle use in that time period.

Nadhim Zahawi: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) was created in July 2016. The answer therefore covers from this date. Since its creation BEIS has been supportive of promoting cycling to work; recognising the benefits this brings to the health and wellbeing of the workforce, as well as reducing the environmental impact of the department in general. In response to the specific questions: (a) BEIS has spent a total of £16.8k on installing bicycle racks (this figure includes the cost of materials).(b) BEIS does not offer a bonus scheme for bicycle use. In addition, the total amount spent on the cycle to work scheme to encourage staff in BEIS to cycle to work since the department’s creation was £16.7k in 2016 (July to December), £24.5k in 2017, £29.8k in 2018 and £39.8k in 2019.

Engineering: Vocational Education

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment she has made of the performance of the Year of Engineering 2018 campaign.

Joseph Johnson: The Year of Engineering 2018 campaign was a success thanks to the support and enthusiasm of more than 1500 partners right across the sector. The efforts of our partners – scores of passionate individuals from businesses, professional institutions, charities, schools and colleges - helped the campaign deliver more than five million direct experiences of engineering to 7-16 year olds across the UK, well exceeding our set one million target. We have seen first-hand that when young people get the chance to enjoy problem-solving activities or meet an engineer face-to-face, they are more likely to consider it as a job. It was fantastic to see that for those young people aware of the campaign, desirability of engineering careers increased substantially – by 35 percentage points for 7-11s and 14 percentage points for 11-16s We aim to create a lasting and meaningful legacy for the Year of Engineering by continuing to show young people from different backgrounds what they can achieve in engineering. We will work together across the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Department for Education and the Department for Transport and other departments to build on the success of the campaign through a long-term engineering legacy campaign and through continued collaboration across industry. We need more engineers to help us meet our Grand Challenges to ensure the UK leads the way on the AI and data revolution and the global shift to clean growth, harness the power of innovation to meet the needs of an ageing society and become a world leader in the future of mobility - the way people, goods and services move.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Ascension Island

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps are being taken to ensure that the British air sampling station on Ascension Island remains operational.

Joseph Johnson: Met Office staff collect samples of the air on Ascension Island as part of the Global Atmosphere Watch which helps scientists measure, track and understand the rise in CO2 and methane around the planet. This is done on behalf of Royal Holloway, University of London and the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who fund the equipment. Ascension Island is a remote location which relies on limited air freight services to provide resupply of equipment. On occasion, equipment deliveries can be disrupted due to the essential prioritisation of other cargo, such as food, resulting in delays to the sampling schedule. The Met Office is working with the programme’s owners to investigate contingency measures to minimise disruption if supplies to the island are delayed again in the future.

Passenger Ships: Employment

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether she has made representations to the Secretary of State for Transport on the potential effect of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s plans for older passenger boats on the number of (a) skilled maritime jobs, (b) skilled boatyard jobs and (c) jobs in the tourism sector.

Nadhim Zahawi: BEIS works with the Maritime Coastguard Agency and industry to further understand the issues raised and remains closely engaged with DfT on the delivery of the recently published Maritime 2050 strategy and to support growth ambitions across the maritime sector.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Sexual Offences

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many compensation payments have been received by NHS staff as a result of sexual assaults committed against them by patients in the each of the last three years for which information is available.

Chris Skidmore: The Department does not collect specific data around the sexual assault of National Health Service staff by patients or associated compensation payments, as this issue is expected to be dealt with locally, in line with the NHS complaints procedure. Further information is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-nhs-constitution-for-england/how-do-i-give-feedback-or-make-a-complaint-about-an-nhs-service We are committed to supporting NHS trusts to protect their staff from sexual harassment. The Social Partnership Forum has led a call to action for NHS organisations to eliminate all forms of bullying and harassment as part of creating a healthy, inclusive and compassionate workplace culture. Eradicating sexual harassment will be one of its top priorities in 2019/20.

General Practitioners: Barnet

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much money the General Practice Resilience Programme will provide in the Barnet Clinical Commissioning Group area in the next 12 months.

Jo Churchill: For the financial year 2019/20, Barnet Clinical Commissioning Group has been allocated approximately £54,000 to deliver the General Practice Resilience Programme. The programme is expected to have commenced by mid-September.

Food: Allergies

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of allergen labelling on pre-packaged food.

Jo Churchill: The European Union Food Information for Consumers Regulation 2011 introduced strengthened controls for food allergen labelling which are enforced in the UK by the Food Information Regulations 2014. Following EU Exit, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will be carrying out a review of food labelling, to ensure there is a comprehensive domestic framework that meets the needs of UK consumers and producers. The Food Standards Agency will be collaborating closely with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to successfully deliver this review and is currently working with industry, enforcement agencies and other relevant interest groups to improve the measures in place to protect food allergic and intolerant consumers.

Cancer: Diagnosis

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the detection of cancer in its early stages.

Jo Churchill: The NHS Long Term Plan set out the commitment to diagnose 75% of cancers being at stage 1 or 2 by 2028.As recommended by the UK National Screening Committee and the independent Cancer Taskforce, we are modernising our world-renowned cancer screening programmes by introducing Faecal Immunochemical Testing into the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme as soon as possible and human papillomavirus as the primary test in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme by 2020.NHS England is establishing Rapid Diagnostic Centres across the country to upgrade and bring together the latest diagnostic equipment and expertise. The centres build on the 10 models piloted through the Accelerate, Coordinate and Evaluate programme, which have focussed on diagnosing cancers where patients often present with non-specific symptoms and may go to their general practitioner many times before being sent for appropriate tests.

NHS: Facilities

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve and upgrade NHS facilities in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) the UK.

Chris Skidmore: On 5 August 2019 the Prime Minister announced £854 million of new capital funding to provide upgrades to 20 hospitals across England. This is on top of the £2.4 billion capital investment awarded to over 150 sustainability and transformation partnership (STP) schemes across England since July 2017 to modernise and transform the National Health Service’s buildings and services.Of the £854 million, £21.3 million has been awarded to United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust for the Transforming Urgent and Emergency Care at Pilgrim Hospital Boston scheme, which will improve patient flow in Boston by developing urgent and emergency care zones in accident and emergency. In December 2018, Lincolnshire also benefitted from United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust’s £1.5 million scheme for a Multi-Purpose Education Centre to support University Medical School of Excellence (Lincoln).An additional £1 billion was also announced on 5 August to be spent this financial year, allowing existing upgrade programmes to proceed and tackle the most urgent infrastructure projects across the country.My Rt. hon. Friend as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care recently set out, a new Health Infrastructure Plan will be brought forward to deliver a strategic major hospital rebuilding programme, providing the necessary health infrastructure across the country for the years to come.NHS facilities in other parts of the United Kingdom are a matter for the devolved administrations.

Pineal Cysts: Health Services

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to develop new guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of pineal cysts.

Jo Churchill: No plans are currently in place.

Loneliness: Diseases

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the potential effect of loneliness and social isolation on recovery rates from (i) cardiovascular disease, (ii) cancer and (iii) mental health conditions.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department is investing over £1 billion a year in health research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR’s research programmes provide a flexible source of funding. Applications are welcome for research into any aspect of human health, including research on the potential effect of loneliness and social isolation on recovery from Cardiovascular disease, cancer and mental health conditions; it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The NIHR funds a number of research projects exploring the potential effect of loneliness and social isolation on recovery rates from cardiovascular disease, cancer and mental health conditions. Studies range in their focus, from specific vulnerable groups such as the elderly, those with mental health conditions or learning disabilities to the wider impact of social isolation and loneliness on an individual’s physical and mental health and well-being. The NIHR is funding two large studies focussing on improving the quality of life for people with serious mental health conditions, for example a £2.7 million study which includes testing a targeted, intervention to expand social networks of patients with psychosis and a £3.95 million study on immersive virtual reality as a treatment to help individuals with schizophrenia safely and confidently enter everyday situations. A current trial is testing an intervention to improve the physical and mental health outcomes for people who may be isolated due to a range of physical, psychological and social factors. Other studies, whose primary focus is not loneliness or social isolation, explore the effects of these within a broader context, for example a current study is researching the specific late effects of chemotherapy (such as hearing loss) and the associate impact on quality of life, including social isolation.

Headaches

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on demand for NHS services of self-administering treatments for migraine.

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure migraine sufferers are being given the option of self-administered treatments.

Caroline Dinenage: No assessment has made of the potential effect on demand for National Health Service services of self-administering treatments for migraine. Many patients with migraine can be successfully supported and managed through routine primary and secondary care pain management services and through the use of over-the -counter medicines. However, it is important that patients with the most serious pain management issues are able to access specialist care. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline, ‘Headaches: Diagnosis and management of headaches in young people and adults’, published in 2012 and updated in 2015, sets out evidence based best practice for healthcare professionals in the care, treatment and support of people who suffer from migraines. The guideline includes specific information on the management of migraines to either stop or prevent attacks, such as the prescribing of medications including analgesics, triptans and anti-emetics (as recommended in NICE's guideline on headaches in over 12s).

Air Ambulance Services: Finance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the £10 million air ambulance capital fund has been awarded to air ambulance charities after the bidding process.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which air ambulance charities were successful in their bid for air ambulance capital funding; and how much funding each such charity was awarded.

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications from air ambulance charities his Department received for the air ambulance capital fund.

Chris Skidmore: As part of the Autumn 2018 Budget, £10 million capital funding was allocated for air ambulance services in England. A call for bids for charities to apply for funding was launched by the Department and 14 applications were received. Nine applications were successful, and these air ambulance charities will receive a share of £10 million funding as per the table below: CharityAmountEast Anglian Air Ambulance£790,313Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust£1,397,700London's Air Ambulance£1,393,552Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust£1,500,000Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance Charitable Trust£1,818,200Great Western Air Ambulance Charity£267,659Devon Air Ambulance Trust£226,061MAGPAS Air Ambulance£1,340,493Midlands Air Ambulance Charity£1,266,022

HIV Infection: Drugs

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government remains committed to doubling the number of places on the PrEP Impact Trial; and what steps he is taking towards achieving that goal.

Jo Churchill: Following my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s announcement on 30 January that the number of places on the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Impact Trial would be doubled to 26,000, expansion of the trial is now underway across the country.NHS England has committed to funding the PrEP drug and research costs of these additional places, in line with current arrangements. Around 80% of participating clinics have now confirmed they have the capacity to accept additional trial places and the majority of sites have also received approval from their Local Authority commissioners to proceed. In London, boroughs have so far agreed to accept 60% of the total number of additional places available to them. London local authority commissioners have been asked to confirm whether they can accept any further additional places. In addition, sexual health services not taking part in the trial have been given an opportunity to participate following trial expansion.

Hospitals: Finance

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the sustainability and transformation plan at South Tyneside Hospital, what his Department's policy is on local authorities borrowing money from the Public Works Loan Board to pay for changes to local hospitals under sustainability and transformation plans.

Chris Skidmore: The policy on National Health Service providers borrowing from local authorities is that they must seek value for money for taxpayers and the resulting capital expenditure incurred must be affordable within the Department’s capital budget.Further details can be found in the NHS capital regime guidance at the following link:https://improvement.nhs.uk/resources/capital-regime-investment-and-property-business-case-approval-guidance-nhs-trusts-and-foundation-trusts/

Nurses: Training

Graham P Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the additional funding for the NHS announced by the Prime Minister will be used to increase the number of nursing bursaries.

Chris Skidmore: The education funding reforms announced in the 2015 Spending Review started to take effect from August 2017 and pre-registration nursing students began to access student loans rather than receiving a National Health Service bursary.In January 2019, the NHS published its Long Term Plan which sets out a 10 year vision for healthcare in England. The NHS Interim People Plan, published on 3 June, sets out the immediate actions needed to grow the nursing workforce across all settings by over 40,000 in the next five years.We will work with the NHS and the Higher Education Institution sector to improve awareness of the financial support packages available to all undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare students and how they can be accessed.

Department for International Development

Developing Countries: Mining

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safety of people employed mining rare earth metals in developing countries.

Andrew Stephenson: The UK is working tirelessly to promote responsible and safe practices in working environments globally. The UK is fully supportive of the core principles of the Decent Work Agenda as enshrined by the core rights outlined in the ILO Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work. The UK provides support to initiatives such as the UN Global Compact and the Ethical Trade Initiative who work to ensure jobs in global supply chains are high quality ones, where human rights are respected, and health and safety is safeguarded. The UK is committed to supporting compliance with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. The implementation of this guidance will be made mandatory for the biggest importers in the EU via the EU Regulation on the Responsible Sourcing of Conflict Minerals. This will come into force in January 2021. The UK will continue to implement this regulation after leaving the EU as it will be rolled over into UK Law via the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

Department for Education

Primary Education: Harrow

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what representations he has received from (a) Harrow council and (b) other stakeholders on the financial costs incurred by Harrow Council as a result of the need to urgently move the location of Pinner Wood Primary School; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Harrow Borough Council officers contacted the Department’s officials in March 2017 when the issue of the temporary relocation of Pinner Wood Primary School occurred. The Department has received letters of support from my right hon. Friend, the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner and my hon. Friend, the Member for Harrow East. No further exchanges have taken place with other parties.The safety of pupils and staff is paramount, and Harrow Borough Council acted promptly and properly in discharging their statutory responsibilities for health and safety by moving the school to alternative accommodation.Harrow Borough Council have submitted a request for funding to reimburse them for the costs incurred. As Pinner Wood Primary School is a local authority-maintained school, responsibility for maintenance and capital works rests with Harrow Borough Council. Harrow Borough Council receive capital funding through the School Condition Allocation to meet capital needs of their school estate, including the funding of emergency situations. Unexpected capital projects do arise occasionally, and we would normally expect local authorities to reprioritise spending plans wherever possible to address them.The Department recognises the exceptional nature of this case. Officials are revisiting the details of the request and are committed to securing a contribution towards the temporary accommodation and transportation costs. We will notify Harrow Borough Council promptly as soon as this process is completed.

Languages: Special Educational Needs

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to issue guidance to schools on the need to include spoken language in schools’ special educational needs information reports.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Every school must publish a special educational needs (SEN) information report setting out how it implements its policy for pupils with SEN. Regulations set out what information must be included, so schools must describe their approach to teaching pupils with SEN and how they make adaptations to the curriculum for these pupils. It is for each school to determine the level of detail about these matters in the information it publishes. Every local authority must also publish a local offer of its SEN provision. This should include the special educational provision made available to mainstream schools, including therapies such as speech and language therapy where they educate or train a child or young person.

Schools: Charitable Donations

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2019 to Question 278353, how the 0.7 per cent of funding from donations is distributed across all schools.

Nick Gibb: The distribution of donations across all schools can be seen on the schools financial benchmarking website: https://schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk/.

Children: Exploitation

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2019 to Question 273801 on Children: Exploitation, what steps his Department has taken to communicate to local authorities the updates made in September 2018 to the Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance; and what funding has been provided from the public purse to train those delivering associated services to implement that guidance.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: Further to the answer provided by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability on 15 July 2019, ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ was published in July 2018. The working together to safeguard children guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2.In September 2018, the Home Office published updated guidance 'Criminal Exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: County Lines guidance'. This guidance is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-exploitation-of-children-and-vulnerable-adults-county-lines.Both pieces of guidance were published on the GOV.UK website and to support this, were promoted to local authorities through a variety of channels including:English local authority communications team;Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) e-bulletin to local authority CEOs;The Society of Local Authorities’ Chief Executives bulletin;The Association of Directors of Children’s Services bulletin;The Association of Directors of Adults Social Services;The National Association of Head Teachers website;The Association of School and College Leaders website; andNHS England.The updated county lines guidance was also shared with police forces and Police and Crime Commissioners to share with their local stakeholders. ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children' was also shared with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and other key organisations including:The Local Government Association;The Association of Independent Local Safeguarding Children Board Chairs;The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health,The Royal College of Nursing;Barnardo’s;The National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children; andHer Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary of Fire and Rescue Services.Funding for children’s services sits with local authorities as part of their main un-ringfenced budgets, so they have the flexibility to decide how to spend it to best meet local needs, including on any training arrangements for professionals working to safeguard children and young people. This funding is allocated through MHCLG's annual Local Government Funding Settlement.

Children's Centres

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to require local authorities to submit data to his Department on children’s centre usage levels.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my hon. Friend, the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Nadhim Zahawi) on 20 June 2019 to Question 265464.

Sex and Relationship Education

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will require schools to implement LGBT-inclusive Sex and Relationships Education.

Nick Gibb: The Department wants to equip all young people for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society. The Department is making relationships education compulsory for all primary pupils, relationships and sex education (RSE) compulsory for all secondary pupils and health education compulsory for all pupils in state-funded schools.The statutory guidance states that all pupils should receive teaching on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) relationships during their school years. Secondary schools should include LGBT content in their teaching. Primary schools are also strongly encouraged, when teaching about different types of family, to include families with same sex parents. The guidance recommends that LGBT specific content, when taught, is fully integrated in schools’ programme of study for this area of the curriculum.

Schools: Finance

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what his policy is on increasing (a) overall school funding and (b) the minimum level of funding per pupil; and when those policies will be implemented.

Gavin Williamson: Holding answer received on 28 August 2019



On Friday 30 August the department announced an over £14 billion, 3 year settlement for primary and secondary schools. This funding package builds on the government reforms which have seen education standards in England increase, with more primary school children on track to become fluent readers, more 19 year olds leaving education with English and mathematics GCSEs, and almost one million school places created. This funding package builds on the reform agenda that we have pursued since 2010 which has driven better standards, rigour, discipline and outcomes for pupils in England. This settlement includes cash increases of £2.6 billion for 2020-21, £4.8 billion for 2021-22 and £7.1 billion for 2022-23 compared with 2019-20. Part of this settlement includes over £700 million more for the special educational needs and disabilities budget in 2020-21 compared to this year, which is equivalent to an increase of over 11%. In addition, the settlement also includes £1.5 billion in each of the next 3 years for teachers’ pensions. This is on top of the £14 billion overall increase. The £14 billion means the department can ‘level up’ school funding by raising the minimum per pupil funding to all secondary schools to £5,000 next year, and the minimum per pupil funding for primary schools to £3,750 in 2020-21 and £4,000 in 2021-22. This will bring the schools budget to £52.2 billion by 2022-3 and will deliver on my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister’s pledge to deliver the following:increase school funding by £4.6 billion a year above inflation;delivering minimum secondary school funding of £5,000 per pupil; anddelivering minimum primary school funding of £4,000 per pupil by 2022-23. In doing so, the government is giving all young people the same opportunities to succeed — regardless of where they grow up or go to school— and providing for a real terms increase in per pupil funding in all schools next year. The funding formula will ensure that all parts of the UK will receive significant funding uplifts.

Literacy: Primary Education

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to improve literacy rates of key stage 1 students from lower income households.

Nick Gibb: The Government is committed to continuing to raise literacy standards – ensuring all children, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, can read fluently and with understanding.There is sound evidence that systematic synthetic phonics is a highly effective method of teaching reading to children. The Department introduced the light touch phonics screening check for Year 1 pupils in 2012. Phonics performance is improving: in 2018, 163,000 more six year olds were on track to become fluent readers compared to 2012. This represented 82% of pupils meeting the expected standard, compared to 58% in 2012.Building on this success, in 2018 the Department launched a £26.3 million English Hubs Programme. The Department has appointed 34 primary schools across England as English Hubs, which are taking a leading role in supporting nearly 3000 schools to improve their teaching of reading through systematic synthetic phonics, early language development, and reading for pleasure. The English Hubs are primarily focused on Key Stage 1 and focus on supporting schools with high levels of disadvantage.

Students: Disadvantaged

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of a student premium for funding (a) further and (b) higher education.

Mrs Kemi Badenoch: The government is determined to ensure disadvantaged students are supported in their post-16 education. The national funding formula for 16-19-year olds and the funding through the Adult Education Budget both include a disadvantage uplift. This provides extra funding for disadvantaged students and learners, specifically for those with low prior attainment, or those who live in the most disadvantaged areas. The government teaching grant funding to the higher education (HE) sector includes 3 student premium allocations that support: full-time students deemed to be at risk of discontinuing their studies; part-time students; and disabled students. All HE providers in the approved (fee cap) category of the Office for Students register are eligible to receive these student premium allocations, including further education college’s offering HE.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Electoral Register: Fines

Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Houghton and Sunderland South, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what training has been given to electoral registration officers on the implementation of fixed penalty notices for non-registration.

Bridget Phillipson: The Electoral Commission has published comprehensive guidance for Electoral Registration Officers, which covers the requirements and processes for imposing civil penalties for failing to respond to a requirement to register. The Commission does not provide training for Electoral Registration Officers.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Parking: Fees and Charges

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that local authorities tackle excessive car parking charges to help promote tourism in seaside towns.

Jake Berry: The Great British Coast has enormous potential and this Government is determined to see it thrive all year round. We are committed to supporting coastal communities to unlock barriers to their development and growth, and to strengthen their appeal as places to live, work and visit.Parking is the responsibility of local authorities and it is for them to determine what is appropriate in their own area. Central government has no remit to intervene in local authorities’ day to day affairs. The Government recognises that councils should be treating motorists fairly and promoting their town centres through their parking plans.In line with the Local Authority Transparency Code, local authorities should each year publish their costs and profits relating to their parking management, allowing the public to hold certain overzealous councils to account.

Property Development: Climate Change

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has provided to local authorities on ensuring that property development plans tackles climate change.

Esther McVey: The National Planning Policy Framework and its accompanying planning practice guidance provide clear expectations on adaptation and resilience to a changing climate. All development plans should take a proactive approach to mitigating and adapting to climate change, taking account of the implications for flood risk, coastal change, water supply, biodiversity, landscapes and risks of overheating from rising temperatures.

Housing: Health

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of frequent house moves on the well-being of (a) adults and (b) children.

Esther McVey: Our consultation on Overcoming the barriers to longer tenancies sought views on the potential benefits of longer tenancies in the private rented sector. A number of people responded that increased security would improve tenants’ mental health and well-being. In particular, respondents mentioned that fewer house moves could help tenants have better access to local amenities, such as schools and GP clinics, and feel more integrated into their communities.Earlier this year, the Government announced its commitment to improve security for renters, and intends to introduce a new, fairer deal for both tenants and landlords.As part of this new deal, we will put an end to ‘no-fault’ evictions by repealing section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. Under the new framework, a tenant cannot be evicted from their home without good reason, providing tenants with more stability, and enabling them to put down roots and plan for the future.On the 21st July we launched a 12 week consultation on the details of our proposals. The Government will collaborate with and listen to tenants, landlords and others in the sector to develop a more effective system that works for everybody.

Loneliness: Young People

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress his Department has made on using social prescribing interventions to help tackle loneliness among young people as part of the Government's loneliness strategy.

Jake Berry: The £3.37 million MHCLG Community Fund programme has supported 54 local authorities and community group partnerships to shape and deliver improved services. Six grants are linked to social prescribing, of which three directly target vulnerable children and young people. For example, the ‘Community Connectors’ project in South Norfolk was awarded £70,000 to deliver social prescribing from all GP surgeries across South Norfolk providing a non-medical solution to social, emotional and practical issues that may be causing health problems for people of all ages.The Department has also contributed towards the £3.5 million jointly invested by the Government and the Co-op Foundation in projects tackling youth loneliness through the Youth Strand of the Building Connections Fund in 2018-19 and 2019-20.My Department will continue to work with other government departments to deliver the commitments in 'A Connected Society: A Strategy for Tackling Loneliness’ and to build the infrastructure for social prescribing.

Buildings: Inspections

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps is he taking to improve the regulation of Approved Inspectors in the building industry.

Esther McVey: Approved Inspectors are an important part of the future system proposed by Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of the Building Regulations and Fire Safety System. In line with Dame Judith’s recommendations, the Government will end the ability of a developer to choose which building control body oversees the construction of higher-risk buildings. We are working with the Joint Regulators Group and representatives of Approved Inspectors to identify the best way to achieve this while retaining sufficient regulatory capability and capacity under the new system. The Department will also commission a review of the future role of the Approved Inspectors under the new regime.

Local Government Pension Scheme

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 5.1 of the consultation Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS): Changes to the local valuation cycle and the management of employer risk, what information his Department holds on demographic composition of (a) teaching staff and (b) non-teaching staff in England by (i) gender and (ii) age.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 5.1 of the consultation Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS): Changes to the local valuation cycle and the management of employer risk, what the average income of people classed as (a) teaching staff and (b) non-teaching staff is.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 5.1 of the consultation Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS): Changes to the local valuation cycle and the management of employer risk,  what assessment he has made of which alternative pension schemes those non-teaching staff that are not offered the LGPS would be eligible for.

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to section 5.1 of the consultation Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS): Changes to the local valuation cycle and the management of employer risk, what assessment he has made of the potential economic effect on non-teaching staff of joining pension schemes other than the LGPS.

Luke Hall: This consultation closed on 31 July and my officials are now considering the responses received. The proposal was to grant further education corporations, sixth form college corporations and higher education corporations in England the flexibility to decide whether to offer the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) to all or some eligible new employees. These are independent, autonomous institutions and any alternative pension arrangements which they may offer would be determined by them through the appropriate industrial relations machinery.The Department is considering responses to the consultation and a response will be published in due course.My Department does not collect the demographic and income data requested. However the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) does gather data on higher education staff - https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/staff - and data on the further education workforce is available through the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) - https://www.et-foundation.co.uk/research/workforce-data/ . Further detailed information, for further education college staff only, is available from the results of the College Staff Survey published last year: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/college-staff-survey-2018.

Community Land Trusts and Housing: Finance

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to increase funding for (a) community land trusts and (b) co-housing initiatives.

Esther McVey: The Government recognises that the community-led housing sector – of which community land trusts and cohousing initiatives are important parts – offers significant potential for helping to meet housing need across England. In addition to helping increase the rate of delivery of new housing, it will help deliver a range of benefits including diversifying the housebuilding sector, improving design and construction quality, developing modern methods of construction, and sustaining local communities and local economies. The support and close involvement of the local community enables the community-led approach to secure planning permission and deliver housing that could not be brought forward through speculative development.The Community Housing Fund aims to support an increase in housing supply in England by increasing the number of additional homes delivered by the community-led housing sector; to provide housing that is affordable at local income levels and remains so in perpetuity; and to deliver a lasting legacy for the community-led housing sector in the form of an effective and financially self-sustaining body of expertise within the house building industry in England.The Community Housing Fund is currently scheduled to close in March 2020. While the programme was launched relatively recently, there is still time for many community-led schemes to access funding and deliver housing, although we appreciate that this will be more difficult for new schemes. All proposals to extend the scheme beyond March 2020 will be given due consideration but decisions on funding for 2020-21 onwards are a matter for the Spending Review, which is due to take place this year.

Loneliness

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made against the commitment set out in the Loneliness Strategy to hold a roundtable with key representatives from the housing sector who are addressing loneliness, to inform the development of Planning Practice Guidance which will be published to support the recently revised National Planning Policy Framework.

Esther McVey: We appointed an external consultant to work with us to develop the design guide and it was agreed that a more interactive workshop approach would be more effective. Therefore, two workshops have been held in which the content of the illustrated design guide, part of the Planning Practice Guidance, was discussed. The discussion was broader than loneliness, but creating inclusive homes and places, which encourage community cohesion and a sense of identity were covered and will be incorporated within the manual.

Loneliness

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what progress has been made against the commitment set out in the Loneliness Strategy to incorporate tackling loneliness as a theme in regional and national design quality events attended by people from across the sector, including local authorities.

Esther McVey: At our National Design Quality Conference in Birmingham in February, the subject of loneliness was tackled in a session on healthy place-making and a case study specifically on tackling loneliness was presented. We also hosted a community vision session with 40 representatives of the Birmingham community in which they discussed designing neighbourhoods to tackle loneliness. We displayed examples of good practice in housing design, many of which were designed to facilitate community engagement at the National Conference. These were also displayed at the Housing 2019 conference in Manchester.

Rented Housing

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2019 to Question 278966 on Rented Housing, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make the sub-letting of residential property a criminal offence.

Esther McVey: The Government has no plans to legislate to make the sub-letting of residential property a criminal offence.

Housing: Heating

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the tenth special report of the Environmental Audit Committee, published on 24 October 2019, on Heatwaves: adapting to climate change: Government Response to the Committee's ninth report, HC 826, what research his Department has commissioned on overheating in new homes; and what steps his Department is taking to tackle overheating in new homes.

Esther McVey: MHCLG commissioned a research project, completed in 2018, to investigate overheating in new homes. We are currently expanding on this initial piece of research and officials are consulting with industry experts. We will present our plans for tackling overheating in new homes as part of our forthcoming consultation into the energy efficiency and ventilation standards of the Building Regulations later this year.

Building Regulations: Water

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, when his Department plans to review Part G of the building regulations.

Esther McVey: The programme to review the suite of Approved Documents to the Building Regulations, including Approved Document G, will be announced later in the year.

Housing: Construction

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to incorporate the promotion of green infrastructure for (a) newbuilds and (b) estate regeneration into national planning policy guidance.

Esther McVey: Environmental protection and enhancement is at the heart of the National Planning Policy Framework, which is a material consideration for all new development and regeneration schemes where planning permission is required. The Framework and its accompanying planning practice guidance provide clear expectations on enhancing the natural environment and providing access to open space, whether through safeguarding existing habitats and facilities or by making new provision where appropriate (including net gains for biodiversity).

Housing: Heating

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the tenth special report of the Environmental Audit Committee, published on 24 October 2018 on Heatwaves: adapting to climate change: Government Response to the Committee's ninth report, HC 826, whether his Department plans to conduct a consultation on reducing overheating risk in new homes.

Esther McVey: In the Government’s response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s enquiry into heatwaves we committed to consult on a method for reducing overheating risk in new homes. This will be part of the Government’s consultation on the energy efficiency and ventilation standards of the Building Regulations. We intend to consult on any proposed changes later this year.

Women and Equalities

Gay Conversion Therapy

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to bring forward legislative proposals to make LGBTQ+ conversion therapy illegal.

Victoria Atkins: Conversion therapy is wrong and we are committed to ending these practices.We have committed to considering all legislative and non-legislative options to prohibit promoting, offering or conducting these practices whether they are occurring in a medical, commercial or faith-based context.The LGBT Advisory Panel are looking at conversion therapy to help us identify the most effective actions to end it. We are conducting detailed research into the experiences of those that have undergone conversion therapy and how it has affected them.This is a complex issue that we will be approaching sensitively. We are engaging widely before bringing forward proposals, and we will consult on the final package to ensure that the actions we take are proportionate, targeted and effective.